I Like Those Odds
by momoxtoshiro
Summary: Meroko is hurt and Izumi takes her home to help her. Alone together, he wonders just how many times she's confessed to Takuto, with fairly satisfying results. Happy 2010!


**My very first FullMoon fic! I got this idea a while ago but only just wrote it because I just re-read the series and fell in love with it all over again. IzuMero is my fav pairing. Its just too cute. Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own FullMoon o Sagashite :(**

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I Like Those Odds

"Come on, Izumi! Come with me!"

"I said no!"

"But why not?!"

"I don't know, I just don't want to."

"That's no excuse!"

"No. Now get off." Izumi Lio struggled and attempted to yank his arm away from where Meroko Yui desperately clung onto it like a leech. His partner was being extremely annoying in trying to make him go out with her that day, and she was very determined to take him with her.

"Come on! Please? It's so nice outside! Let's just go for a fly around town together, just you and me. Takuto and Mitsuki are out on a date of their own and I hate being left behind all alone." Meroko pouted, over-reactive tears beginning to form in her eyes. "It'll be really quick, I promise!" she squeezed his arm tighter.

Izumi sighed, looking down at the bunny Shinigami; her large, rose-tinted eyes were sparkling with tears, half-hidden behind locks of long, pink hair, trapped like prisoners behind bars. The corners of Izumi's mouth twitched upwards and he shrugged.

"Why is it that I can never say no to you?" he caved in. But truthfully, he did not mind always giving in to her little whims.

"Yay!" she squealed, finally releasing his arm and throwing her hands up into the air with glee.

"All right, where too?" He asked absentmindedly as he felt the blood flow back into his hand.

"Just…anywhere! It's such a nice day! I just can't stand being cooped up all day. I feel like I'm going to suffocate! I need some fresh air!" Meroko stopped herself as she realized that she was babbling. She stole a sidelong glance at her dog-eared partner, who had his arms crossed with an amused expression on his face. _She's so cute_. He thought. Meroko cleared her throat and began again. "Well, anyway, let's just go wherever. Unless there's some specific place you want to go?" She offered, tilting her head to one side.

"No, no. You lead. Go wherever it is your unbeating heart desires." He waved his hand dismissively, but Meroko knew that his intentions were kind and she smiled.

"Okay." She skipped over to the small balcony of the hotel room they were in: Mitsuki had booked this place to stay because one of her upcoming concerts was nearby.

She stepped out onto the ledge and leaped over the railing, unfolding her angelic white wings and lifting herself up into the air. She waited as Izumi followed her out into the fresh, warm, Summer air before turning to head toward the woods. Off to one side of the hotel was a fairly sized, old-fashioned town, with all sorts of stores. The town opened up to a large park which then gradually morphed to a huge forest.

Meroko closed her eyes as she felt the warm breeze tugging her long hair back over her shoulders, brushing against her feathers. She could hear the laughter of children far down below, the wind tickling the fur in her long ears. She breathed in deeply, feeling the air fill up her lungs and she briefly tried to remember a time of when her heart could actually beat and she fantasized being able to feel it pounding within her chest.

Izumi followed at a distance of a few feet behind her, not looking at the scenery below him but perusing the beautiful girl before him. Seeing all of her gorgeous features, her flowing hair, her petite form and her bright smile, he remembered why it was he had tried so hard to win her back as his partner.

The two Shinigami soared over the trees and Izumi automatically regretting in hesitating to come along with her; the day was almost as beautiful as the girl he loved.

They flew in comfortable silence for a good amount of time and Izumi jumped a bit when he heard Meroko's joyful voice trill out above the soft sound of the wind. "Look! Swans!" she chirped happily. Izumi followed her outstretched finger to where a flock of white, fluffy bodies bobbed up and down gracefully up ahead of them. "Do swans usually fly all together like that?" Meroko asked no one in particular. Then she raised her voice and called back to Izumi, "I'm going to go fly with them! You come too!" without waiting for a reply, she darted off to catch up to the birds.

Izumi stayed off to the side of the group and watched amusedly as Meroko flitted playfully through the graceful birds. Though humans could not see Shinigami, animals had some sixth sense that enabled every species the ability to see them.

Izumi admired the way his partner was so careful with the majestic creatures, making absolutely sure to flap her wings slowly and avoid knocking into any of them. One bird flew above her head and nibbled on one of her rabbit ears. "Hey!" She complained, glaring up at the white creature. Izumi failed at stifling a chuckle and wound up bursting out into laughter. Meroko sent a pouting face his way, but she loved it when he laughed and she began giggling as well.

The two Shinigami flew a few moments with the swans until they began veering towards another patch of trees. Izumi was about to suggest starting to head back when movement down below caught his attention.

Turning his head, his sharp vision caught sight of two figures moving among the bushes down below. They were normal humans, but they were staring up at the Shinigami as though they could see them. But he soon realized that they were looking up at the swans, long stick-like guns grasped in their hands as they aimed up at the sky. _Hunters!_

"Oh no…" Izumi froze in midair, terror seizing him at seeing the weapons pointed in his direction. But it was not himself that he felt fear for.

He could not remember any words at that instant and his voice caught in his throat as he fumbled for something to shout out. He tried to remember how to use his voice and finally managed to yell, "Meroko!"

His carefree partner halted briefly in her flight, turning back to him with a confused and curious look on her face. She hovered there for an instant as the last of the birds flew on past her. Seconds later, a loud blast momentarily deafened him and he heard the bullet whizzing through the air near his right wing, taking off the tip of one of his feathers as it went.

The next second, Meroko was spiraling down toward the ground like the beautiful disaster of an injured cherub.

Izumi snapped out of his trance and folded his wings, plummeting down after her like a falcon. The Earth rushed up at him and the wind whipped his face harshly as he picked up momentum in his free-fall. Increasing his speed, he flew past the falling girl beside him and reached the ground first, landing roughly on both feet and trying to keep his balance as he reached out with both arms. Seconds later, Meroko fell into his arms like a fallen angel.

Izumi stumbled as her weight collided with him after descending from so up high. With a grunt, he knelt down on one knee to the ground, his wounded partner whimpering with pain. Carefully, he laid her down in the soft, green grass, immediately noticing the bright scarlet that dripped from his palms; but the blood was not his own.

Eyes widening in panic, Izumi looked down at Meroko and scoured her body for injuries. She was panting for breath, her chest heaving and her long, pink hair pooled out around her, draping over her collarbones. Then, the dog-Shinigami caught sight of red on the grass underneath her shoulder. Gently, he reached forward and brushed the silky tresses away from her face to see that her shoulder was soaked in blood. Strands of her hair were spattered in crimson as well and Izumi felt an icy sensation creeping under his skin at the sight of her.

Her eyes were squeezed shut in agony and her mouth was agape as she desperately tried to take in air. Izumi could hardly believe that this was the same girl who had been tugging on his arm, begging him to go with her less than an hour ago. _How could I _ever _think of not coming with her? _

"Meroko?" he asked. "Can you hear me?" The silence that followed was unbearable as he was forced to listen to her agonized breathing. He placed one hand on her bleeding shoulder and was washed over with relief when he found that the bullet had only grazed her and he realized with a sickening feeling that it looked as though there was more blood than there should have been. He then noticed her frail wings, crumpled beneath her body and that one was dripping blood as well.

"Izumi…" Meroko's voice was weak and raspy, but he could hear the smile in her tone even before he turned to look at her face. Her eyes fluttered open to stare up at the sky and she watched as the specks of white that were the swans, disappear safely over the treetops. Only a minute had passed since the shot had been fired. She smiled once she saw that the animals were safe, and then rolled her head to the side to look back up into his pale, yellow eyes. "I'm okay, Izumi. I wasn't expecting that pain and I just forgot to flap…"

"You idiot!" he barked. "That could have been the death of you! For real!" his eyes were hard but then he blinked and realized he was over-reacting. "I'm sorry. It's not your fault." He then looked up to peruse the surrounding area, looking past the distant trees but the hunters had vanished.

"They couldn't see me," she pointed out. "By they still shouldn't have been aiming for those innocent birds." Even in this situation, she could still manage to worry about other before herself; only _one _of the countless reasons he loved her.

"Are you hurt anywhere else?" Izumi asked.

"I don't think so." She rasped. Slowly, she pushed herself up with her uninjured arm and Izumi supported her back with his own.

"Hey, be careful! You're hurt, you know." He growled.

"It doesn't hurt too much anymore." She reassured him and he glanced down to see that the bleeding had, for the most part, stopped.

"Well that's good." He sighed in relief. "Can you stand?" Meroko shrugged and tentatively tried to get to her feet, but being able to only use one arm, it was more difficult then she thought so Izumi helped her up. Taking her good arm, he pulled it across his shoulders and grasped her wrist with one hand, snaking his other arm around her back to support her waist. "You okay?" He checked.

"My wing is aching…" she puffed, glancing back over her shoulder, a throbbing sensation prickling her like a bramble of thorns so hard that her head hurt. She slumped a bit and leaned into him, panting with the effort to try and stifle her pain.

"You can't fly, can you?" he guessed.

"I could try-"

"No, you'll only wind up hurting yourself more." He cut her off before she could even get the chance to protest. "I'll carry you back."

"N-No! I'm too heavy!" Meroko blushed.

"No you're not. Are you saying I'm not strong enough?" He shot back. The bunny-girl opened her mouth to reply but the words died in her throat. Izumi smirked. "Come on."

Reluctantly, Meroko let him lift her up bridal style in his arms, her face tinted red the whole time. Careful of her awkwardly folded wings, Izumi kicked off from the ground and flew up into the air.

Izumi assumed that she would close her eyes from exhaustion, but instead, the perky Shinigami surprised him once again and gave him something else to love about her. Instead, her eyes were open wide and shining lively like a real rabbit's as she viewed the scenery below them, and Izumi guessed that she had never been able to observe the world from the sky without having to worry about moving her wings constantly. As he flew on, Izumi noticed that Meroko had seemed to completely forgotten about her wound and was totally oblivious to the drying blood on her collarbone.

Finally, Izumi landed back onto the same balcony he had set off on an hour ago. The blonde Shinigami brought his partner over to her bed, since Mitsuki had got a huge room with 3 extra beds for her 'friends of the forest', as she still sometimes referred to them as.

Just then, an idea popped into Meroko's head and she opened her mouth as Izumi laid her down on the blankets, but then she closed it again, thinking better of it. But Izumi had already noticed. "What?" he queried. Meroko blinked up at him.

"Ah…Why didn't I just transform into a rabbit...?" her long ears flattened and then twitched in amusement. Izumi opened his mouth as well but just let it hang dumbly open. Then, the two partners burst out into laughter simultaneously. "Sorry," Meroko giggled. "I can't believe I didn't think of that before. It would have been so much easier on you that way." She closed her eyes and sighed at her own stupidity.

"Hey, I didn't think of it either." He reasoned. "Wow, we're stupid."

"But we fit together quite nicely." She pointed out.

"Yes we do." He agreed with a smirk. "Wait here for a second." He told her, standing.

"No, I was actually going to jump out the window and start flying again." She rolled her eyes. Her sarcasm: another thing he could not get enough of. Izumi snorted in realizing that his words _had _been extremely foolish.

He then went into the bathroom and wet a washcloth with warm water. Returning to his injured companion, he cleaned her wound to see that it had stopped bleeding and patched it up with some strips of bandage.

"When will Mitsuki and Takuto be back do you think?" The girl asked.

"Probably later." Izumi replied. "Her concert isn't until tomorrow night so they'll probably have a good time now."

"Then they don't need to know about this, right? It'd be embarrassing and I know Mitsuki would be worrying about me throughout her concert and I don't want her to get distracted."

"Meroko…" he really admired her sometimes. "Sometimes, it's okay to worry about yourself _before _the rest of the world, you know." She just stared up at him from where she lay on the bed, beaming a smile that reached her eyes. Izumi sighed and gingerly placed a hand on her injured shoulder but she did not flinch. "Are you feeling any better?" he asked.

"Yeah, I can't even feel it anymore." She smiled, then hesitated before going on. "Thank you, Izumi, for helping me."

"Are you kidding? I didn't do anything." He mumbled bitterly.

"Of course you did! If you hadn't warned me back there, I would have kept flying and that bullet probably would have killed me!"

"Don't even talk like that!" Izumi shouted, making her jump. "I don't even want to think about that…"

"But you _did _save me Izumi. So thank you." Her eyes sparkled, full of love. Izumi stroked her long hair for a moment and she let out a light breath.

"I'll go get you some water." Izumi murmured before materializing through the walls. Meroko smiled after him and closed her eyes. _Izumi you idiot, where are you going to get water from out there?_

A few moments later, she heard the rustling of feathers and reopened her eyes to see him standing above her with a glass full of water.

"Where did you get that?" she asked, genuinely confused.

"The restaurant downstairs." Was his answer. "Let's say some waiter is going to have a story about a levitating glass to tell to his family tonight." He chuckled.

"You're so irresponsible."

"Look who's talking." Izumi offered her the glass. Meroko sat up, drained it and thanked him again before placing the glass on the bedside table and lying back down. She yawned and Izumi had to hold back the amusement from showing on his face; she was always cute, but she was _extremely_ cute when she yawned, or sneezed. It was almost too much for him. _Oh _now_ she's tired, huh? _"I'll let you sleep." He turned to go but Meroko grasped his hand.

"Izumi, don't go. Please." The tone she used…no way in Hell could he leave her now.

"Fine, I'll stay." He gave in yet again.

"Thank you." She let go of him and then shivered the tiniest bit as a breeze came through the open window. Then, she sneezed adorably and Izumi's lips twitched in a smile the way a cat's whiskers twitched with amusement.

"I'll go close it." The boy said, trying to hide his grin.

"No it's okay. I like the fresh air." She protested.

"But you're cold."

"No I'm not." Her stubborn attitude; another thing he admired.

"Fine then."

Meroko sucked in a sharp breath as Izumi sat down on the bed beside her, and then laid down on his side to face her. Cherries would be shamed by the shade Meroko's face turned. Izumi slipped one arm around her waist and rolled her onto her side as well, so that they were now face-to-face.

"Izu-" The rabbit girl was cut off as her partner pulled her into an embrace that could have made her heart start pounding again right then and there. He flicked off her top hat and rested his chin on her head, stroking her long, soft tresses with one hand as he held her close with the other.

"I love you, Meroko." He murmured.

"Hey…" her protest was muffled due to the fact that her face was nestled into his shirt.

"What?"

"Well, nothing I guess…it's just…" she trailed off.

"…Well?" he urged.

"Usually…_I'm _the one who says it first…" she mumbled.

"Oh sorry. Should I take it back?" He teased.

"Y-You wouldn't!" She gasped sharply, looking up at him. But before she could say anything more, Izumi covered her lips with his, and after a few seconds, he felt her stiff shoulders go limp. Meroko thought it was a dream, but the pesky little thing called oxygen that forced them to break apart proved otherwise. _Why do we even need to breathe if we're dead? _She thought sourly, already missing the warm and fuzzy sensation of his mouth on hers.

"Now do you believe that I love you?" Izumi smirked.

"Hmm…I'm not sure-" Once again, Izumi leaned forward and kissed her fiercely, hugging her tighter than before and Meroko kissed back with everything she was worth. However, she was already short on air from their last kiss, and her lungs screamed so she had to push against him slightly until he let go.

"What? You don't like this?" Izumi chuckled.

"N-N-N-No! It's not that! It's just…I can't breathe…" Meroko defended.

"Well, we'll just have to fix that, now won't we?" Again Izumi leaned in and this time Meroko managed to inhale deeply beforehand. The third kiss lasted longer than the other two combined and by the time they broke apart, Meroko could have sworn she had not been breathing long enough to kill her 5 times over; but she did not care. The two Shinigami pulled apart, Meroko gasping like a fish out of water and Izumi chuckling like a hyena as he pulled her in again and stroked her hair once more. "Okay I'm done, I promise."

"Aww..." she complained with a pout. "That last one was…really good." She informed him breathlessly.

"Third time's the charm."

"I love you, Izumi."

"How many times is that now?"

"Eh?" Meroko looked up at him with questioning irises.

"How many times have you told me you loved me." Izumi clarified.

"Oh! Ah…Let's see…" she pondered, moving closer to her partner. "I've told Takuto 61 times, but I know I didn't really mean it after 58…" Izumi chortled. "I've told you…ah…" the girl trailed off.

"Well?" prompted the dog-eared boy.

"Ah…I've told you…108 times?" the way she said it sounded as if she were asking him 'is that okay?'

Izumi's smirk grew a bit. "But with me, you've meant it every time, right?"

"Of course!" Meroko replied instantly, staring earnestly into his eyes.

Izumi chuckled once more, patting her head and hugging her again.

"108 to 61, eh?" he mused to himself, kissing Meroko's soft hair. "I Like Those Odds."

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**A/N: Aww! I just love them soooo much! I know it was really like 74 to 58 but obviously this takes place a little while afterwards. Hope you enjoyed! Happy New Year to all the people who actaully read this and like FullMoon for there are not many that I know of. Feel free to prove me wrong!!**

**Please review!! ;3**


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